Shadows of Fear
by Idalia
Summary: What really hides in the dark? When the weekend night guard witnesses her friend murdered by the animatronics she loved, she vowed to do her best to keep anyone else from suffering the same fate. (A random story, inspired by a friend.)
1. Prologue

**Hah…so. It's been awhile. And I know most of you REALLY don't want to see a new story when I still have two unfinished, and one being rewritten, but recently I got inspiration for this one from a good friend. I'll do my best to work on my others guys, I promise, but right now, THIS one is going to be my main focus.**

 **On to the info about the story. Yes, it's Five Nights at Freddy's. No, it will not follow most of the lore of it. No, I do not have a concrete plot yet. I will be using some elements from the lore, but other than that, the only identifiable characters will be the animatronics. All my others are OCs based on myself and my friend. If you don't like ANY of that, leave now. If you don't care, then read on! Reviews make me happy, and most of all…enjoy it.**

 _ **This story is dedicated to my friend Mahamed, who provided me with the inspiration for it.**_

He didn't know how he had made it this long. For almost a month, he had been filling the position of weekday night guard at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria. For almost a month, he had been plagued by the animatronics. What should have been a simple job had turned into a hellish game of survival.

Flipping through the cameras briefly, he paused at the back door, a thoughtful frown on his face. Usually the bear, Freddy, would hide in the shadows and stare at him, eyes glowing in the dark. But for once, the bear was absent, and the door seemed to be partially open. Shaking his head, he checked the other cameras quickly, then the lights at each door, slamming the right one shut when the light fell on the chicken, Chica, her beak open wide enough to show the endoskeleton teeth.

With a shudder, he sighed and rubbed his face.

At the sudden terrified scream from down the hallway, he jumped out of his chair, scrambling for the tablet and looking through it. He found Freddy near the back door again, holding on to a terrified girl with shoulder length brown hair, glasses askew and blue eyes staring widely at the massive bear. Flipping quickly through the other cameras, he could make out the other 3 animatronics headed that way too.

Cursing whatever deity might be listening, he opened the right door and booked it down the hallway. When he came across the scene, he shouted and threw the tablet at Freddy, drawing the bears attention. Paling at the realisation that he no longer had a weapon, he could do nothing as the purple rabbit, Bonnie, grabbed his arm in a tight grip.

With both humans captured, the animatronics began to drag them towards parts and services. Struggling, the guard gave the frightened girl a reassuring smile, recognizing her as the weekend night guard, someone he had started to get to know well. She never believed his stories of what his night shift was like, as during her shifts on the weekends, the animatronics were basically inactive other than little movement around the main party room.

He was shaken out of his thoughts at the frightened whimper from the girl as the animatronics opened the door and into parts and services. Sitting on the table was a spare Freddy costume, partially empty and ready for one of the two humans.

With the nod of the bears head, the humans were swapped around, Bonnie holding onto the girl, and Freddy grinning menacingly down at the male guard, who just glared back defiantly.

"One of these days, you monsters are going to get taken apart and never put back together. I'll die knowing I saved innocents from suffering this same fate by surviving here so long."

Freddy chuckled, and decided to give the humans one last shock before they died.

"Now why would they dismantle the only things keeping this pizzeria afloat? It IS named after me after all. Bonnie, make the girl watch. Let her know what's going to happen to her next."

Opening the torso of the suit, Freddy began to push the male guard in, wires and crossbeams cutting into the man's back. Pushing harder, Freddy grinned sadistically when he heard bones starting to crack.

The male guard did nothing but clench his teeth, determined not to let the monsters hear him scream. He could hear the girl, whimpering with every crack and he longed to do nothing but comfort her. Vision starting to go black from the pain and the blood loss, he missed the angry screeches of the animatronics as they were frozen in place, free roam disabled, and an anguished cry as the girl disappeared in a flash of darkness.

 **I hope you guys enjoyed the prologue, more will be coming later this week! As always, please review, I live off reviews…well. Reviews and chaos. Later!**


	2. One Way Out

**Here we are, chapter 1. A few words before we get started. OCs are going to be heavily featured. The timeline is going to be confusing. Things aren't going to connect right away. If any of this is a problem, leave now.**

 **A LOT of this chapter is essentially a giant flashback. Sorry about the liberal use of italics. Sooo…yeah. Enjoy!**

 _ **I shouldn't have to say this, but here it is. I do not own ANYTHING FNAF related.**_

 _10 years later_

Flipping through the newspaper at her kitchen table, Shadow sighed. She needed a new job now that the grocery store down the street was closing, and she wasn't liking the options she saw in the paper. Unfortunately, a degree in animatronic engineering and programming didn't get you a very good job anywhere. Perhaps it was time to act on her mentor's claim that she would return to Freddy Fazbear's. It had certainly been long enough, and she had a decent enough grasp on her own abilities.

"Perhaps a visit to him first…see what he says."

Nodding to herself, Shadow stood up and lifted a hand, pulling it down in a sharp motion, leaving a rippling hole that led to darkness. Pausing, she smiled, remembering the first time she had encountered her mentor.

 _When she felt Bonnie's grip loosen, then completely disappear, she collapsed and curled into a ball, sobbing. If she hadn't forgotten her coat Sunday night, then she wouldn't have ventured to the pizzeria to pick it up and Matt might still be alive. They had never been that active during her shifts…maybe they'd wander a bit, but they'd never get close to the office, let alone try and kill her._

 _Suddenly panicking, she sat up and looked around frantically. Realizing she wasn't in parts and services anymore, she relaxed, and looked around curiously. She seemed to be in an old house, the moon shining brightly, throwing shadows around the hallway. There was a grandfather clock at the end, and a doorway on her right._

 _Standing up, she cautiously opened the door, revealing a child's bedroom. There was another door across from her, a closet on the left, and a bed to the right. Sitting on the bed was a plush toy version of Freddy Fazbear, looking much friendlier than the one that had just killed Matt. Smiling softly, she picked it up and stroked its head, petting the soft fur._

 _Hearing the opposite door creak open, she looked up, only to freeze in terror at the glowing red eyes peering though the doorway. The next thing she noticed were the teeth, bared in a sharp grin. Backing up quickly, she tripped over one of the toys on the floor behind her, falling on her backside. Door fully opening, the massive, torn up black bear animatronic made its way into the room and closer to her. Closing her eyes tightly, waiting for pain, she was confused when all she heard was an amused chuckle._

 _Opening one eye, she was greeted to the view of the black bear leaning down slightly, a massive clawed hand held out to help her up._

" _Wh-what…wh-who are y-you? Where…where am I?"_

 _Chuckling again and pulling her to her feet, the black bear answered her, deep voice giving her chills._

" _You can call me Nightmare. As for where you are, you somehow made your way to the realm of nightmares, where my brother and I reside. How is it that you came to be here little one?"_

 _Shivering, she shrugged._

" _I don't know…one minute I was in the parts and services room of Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria in the grasp of Bonnie, watching my friend and fellow security guard die, the next, I was here. All I remember is…darkness."_

 _Eyes narrowed thoughtfully, Nightmare grunted._

" _I'm afraid I have no way to return you home little one…until we can figure out how you arrived, and if you can leave the same way, you'll have to keep my dear brother and me company. If you truly came here from the pizzeria perhaps you can be of use to us…"_

 _Smiling nervously, she looked up at Nightmare._

" _S-sure. Anything I can do to help."_

 _If possible, Nightmare's grin became wider._

" _Fret not, I have a sneaking suspicion I know how you came to be here…and with a little bit of work, we will have no problem returning you home little one. Now come and stay close. Our realm is not forgiving to mortals."_

 _Scooting closer to the massive black bear, she stayed close as he led her further into the darkened house. Passing a hallway, she could hear a skittering noise as something moved around, and jumped when a small, tattered yellow rabbit came out of the hallway. Looking back to check on her, he shook his head at the sight of the little rabbit._

" _Plushtrap, do behave yourself. We have a guest."_

 _When it seemed to smile up at her, she smiled back tentatively, getting a delighted sound out of it before it scurried back down the hallway and out of sight._

" _He was…uh…cute?"_

 _Nightmare nodded._

" _Yes, and he's quite the little troublemaker given the chance. He will likely seek you out at some point during your stay here, he doesn't get to see humans often."_

 _Humming quietly to herself, she nodded._

" _It sounds like a very lonely existence here. If you don't mind me asking, well…why do you look like an animatronic?"_

 _Nightmare laughed, looking quite amused._

" _I was wondering if you would work up the courage to ask me that little one. It is just the form we choose to take. We are just a few of many beings that live and feed off the fear mortals feel. Fear of animatronics is actually quite common in you mortals, so we found these forms fitting for our purposes."_

 _Noticing her pale face, he laughed again._

" _Not what you were expecting to hear little one?"_

 _She shook her head, eyes slightly widened._

" _Not at all...though I suppose I should have expected something along those lines. You said you had an idea how I might have ended up here? Please tell me I didn't die and end up in some purgatory."_

 _Placing one of his massive clawed hands on top of her head, Nightmare smiled gently at her._

" _I do believe you have a rare gift little one. Some may see it as a curse…your parents, do you know both?"_

 _Frowning at the ground, she shook her head._

" _I only know my mother…she said my father left before I was born, to protect us. I never understood though…how would him leaving have protected us?"_

 _Nightmare sighed._

" _I do believe little one that your father was a being of fear, much like myself and my brother. It is extremely uncommon, but we will take human forms and walk among the mortals at times. There have been a few incidents in history where one of us will breed with a human…the offspring is powerful, but usually does not survive past its fifth year. Did your mother ever tell you the name he went by?"_

" _No…she's always been extremely tight-lipped about any information on my father. She never even showed me a picture of him."_

 _Nightmare nodded._

" _I can think of a few that may have ventured into the realm of mortals in the past 30 years…but I cannot say with certainty which of them could be your father. Perhaps it is better that you never know. But we are getting off topic. Thanks to your father, you have abilities that many would envy. Untrained though, you are more likely to hurt yourself than anything. It is fortunate that you found your way to my realm in your time of need, instead of one who would use you. I can teach you to harness your abilities, though it is your own choice in how you use them, should you accept my tutelage."_

" _I think I would like that…I don't want to be helpless ever again."_

 _She stopped, suddenly realizing that the whole time they had been talking, they had continued to make their way through the old house. They had come to the end of a hallway, and it ended in a shroud of darkness. With a gentle pat on her shoulder and a motion for her to follow him, Nightmare disappeared into the darkness. Cautiously reaching out her hand, she was met with no resistance, but a chill went down her spine. Taking a deep breath, she stepped through the veil of darkness, finding herself on an old stone path leading up to a crumbling castle._

 _Nightmare was further up the path near a large gate that he was slowly pushing open. Rushing to catch up to him, she jumped when Plushtrap scaled up her back, sitting on her shoulder. It bumped its head against hers, making a sound that vaguely resembled purring. She heard Nightmare chuckle, and he slipped through the gate. Following him, she was greeted with the sight of a courtyard, with a partially destroyed fountain sitting in the middle, stagnant water in the basin. The second thing to grab her attention was the second massive bear, this one a golden brown, purple bowtie and top hat instead of the yellow that Nightmare wore. When it spoke, it was with the same rumbling growl that Nightmare used._

" _You seem to have picked up a stray, brother."_

 _It chuckled._

" _She follows you like a little shadow."_

 _Nightmare grinned._

" _I do believe I like that name. Little one, would you be averse to being called Shadow?"_

 _Tearing her gaze away from the golden bear and looking at Nightmare, she shook her head._

" _I don't mind. I sort of like it too."_

 _Looking pleased, Nightmare placed a hand on her head and gestured to the golden bear._

" _Shadow, this is my brother, Fredbear. I will be teaching you most of the magic you'll be able to do, but he may also teach you some things. None of what we teach you will be easy. Everything we teach you will be crucial to your own survival should someone, or something, come after you. Do you understand?"_

 _Shadow nodded._

" _Good…let us begin with something very simple, but very important. You will be able to use the darkness around you to travel quickly, and with practice, between worlds. This is how you will return home, but not until I am confident you can do it without harming yourself or ending up somewhere you do not want to be."_

 _Nightmare gestured to Fredbear standing on the other side of the courtyard, arms crossed._

" _Use the shadows cast by the fountain to travel behind Fredbear. Visualize where you want to go, and then go."_

 _Looking nervously at Fredbear, then at Nightmare, Shadow stepped into the shadows cast by the fountain, closing her eyes and thinking of the darkened area behind Fredbear. When she opened her eyes, she was greeted to the sight of the massive bear with his head turned 180° to stare at her. She yelped, earning a chuckle out of both bears, and Plushtrap clinging tighter to her shoulder._

" _That…is slightly creepy."_

 _Nightmare walked over, examining her carefully._

" _You do not seem to be missing any pieces. This is good. For now, though, we are done for the day. I can see the exhaustion in your eyes little Shadow, and it is not wise to continue this when your energy is drained. Come, we shall return to the bedroom. Though slightly dusty, you can retire peacefully for the evening. We shall continue when you wake."_

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, Shadow stepped through the portal, disappearing into the nightmare realm, the portal closing behind her.

 **Ahem. Well. Yeah. I really have nothing to say to close this out. Review, I love me some reviews!**


	3. Bound

**Flashbacks in italics.**

 **Nothing to say this time. Read, review…enjoy.**

When Shadow passed through the portal, the first thing she heard was the distant clash of metal and angry snarls. The next was quiet skittering as Plushtrap came running down the hallway. Leaning down, she picked him up with a smile and sat him on her shoulder.

"Heya Plush. How have you been?"

The small rabbit just made a clicking noise and shrugged. Shadow laughed and nodded.

"Me too buddy, me too. Nightmare and his brother in the usual place?"

Plushtrap rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Well come on then. I need to talk to them."

Making a discontented noise, Plushtrap flicked one of his ears and tugged on Shadow's hair, getting another laugh out of her.

"No, it can't wait. I'm in a bit of a rush Plush."

Mimicking a sigh, Plushtrap moved over to Shadow's other shoulder and pointed down the hall, towards the sounds in the distance. Grinning, Shadow tugged gently on his paw and started walking, absentmindedly talking as she went.

"I've had a fun past few weeks…got news that the grocery store I work at is closing, so I need to find a new job now. My mother tried calling again, pretended I wasn't home and let the answering machine pick up. She sounded a bit upset with me. My little side project is almost done, I just have a few touch ups to do, and Nightmare's approval."

She paused, a thoughtful look on her face.

"Maybe I should see if Nightmare will let me bring you with me for a little while. I'm sure it isn't any fun being stuck here in the dark all the time."

Shadow grinned when Plushtrap started bouncing excitedly on her shoulder.

"Don't get too hopeful buddy, I need to ask first. I'm sure there won't be a problem, but you know how they are."

Plushtrap rolled his eyes, making Shadow giggle.

"Exactly! They're like overprotective uncles. Heaven forbid their precious little Plushtrap or Shadow get hurt."

Passing through the veil of darkness that separated the house from the rest of the nightmare realm, the sounds went from quiet background noise, to extremely loud. She could pick out which snarl was Nightmare's, and which was Fredbear's, solely from the pitch. Nightmare's was a bit deeper, while Fredbear's was higher, but quieter. Frowning, she walked a bit faster, Nightmare's snarl sounding pained. Slipping through the small opening in the gate, she was greeted by the sight of Nightmare and Fredbear locked in a stalemate. The bottom half of Nightmare's jaw was missing, while Fredbear's left leg looked damaged at the knee joint, bent at a strange angle.

Crossing her arms and clearing her throat, she grinned when the two massive bears jerked in surprise. They separated, Nightmare looking sheepish as Fredbear's leg collapsed underneath him, sending him tumbling on his backside.

"You two look like you're having fun. Destructive fun, but fun nonetheless."

Shadow snickered when Nightmare attempted to answer her before realizing he was missing part of his jaw.

"I see now why you two are always in such a mess. Is this really how you spend your time when I'm not here?"

Fredbear chuckled.

"Usually, yes, unless we're messing with mortals. I do believe I threw Nightmare's jaw into the fountain by the way…I see you looking for it."

Ignoring the sound of Nightmare smacking Fredbear in the head, Shadow wandered over to the fountain, pulling the bottom half of Nightmare's jaw out of the murky water. Turning around, she rolled her eyes, both massive bears now on the ground, Fredbear sitting and Nightmare on his back.

"Honestly, sometimes you'd think I was the immortal fear being and you two were the mortal idiots. I get that you've only taken the forms of animatronics, but doesn't shit like this hurt?"

She brandished Nightmare's heavy jaw, eyebrow raised and gestured at Fredbear's leg.

"You two are lucky I took the courses I did, or you'd be stuck waiting for these to heal instead of me being able to repair you."

She walked over to Nightmare first, pulling a set of tools out of the shadows, and began to work on reattaching the jaw. She could practically feel Fredbear's calculating gaze and started counting quietly in her head. She had almost finished reattaching Nightmare's jaw when Fredbear finally spoke.

"Usually you don't come to visit without warning unless you have something to ask us."

Shadow snickered.

"You almost resisted your curiosity for a full minute! Not very patient, are you?"

At the annoyed growl from behind her, and the eye roll from Nightmare, Shadow couldn't resist falling into snickers again.

"It is way too easy to get you worked up. But yeah…I've got some things to ask. Only came to ask one, but I got talking to Plush here and thought of a few more things I wanted to discuss. Let me at least finish fixing Nightmare's jaw before I start asking questions, because some of them are for him."

Humming quietly, Shadow finished tightening the bolts and stood up, brushing the dirt off her knees. Sitting on the edge of the fountain, she rubbed her face and sighed. Sharing a look with each other, Nightmare narrowed his eyes and made a subtle gesture at Shadow, and Fredbear nodded before shrugging. Nightmare rolled his eyes and crouched down in front of her.

"What has you so worried little Shadow?"

Looking up at Nightmare, Shadow frowned.

"I got news earlier this morning that the grocery store I've been working at will be closing soon. It's time for me to go back, isn't it…?"

Standing up, Nightmare held out a paw, helping Shadow up when she grabbed it.

"It's been 10 years since the incident little Shadow, you knew this day would come sooner rather than later."

Glancing sideways at Fredbear sitting on the ground, twisted leg stretched out in front of him, Shadow sighed.

"You'd better sit still while I take a look at that knee joint, unless you want me making it worse."

Fredbear snorted, giving Shadow a pointed look.

"You're avoiding the question."

Kneeling down and pulling out a wrench and screwdriver, Shadow started tinkering with Fredbear's knee.

"I knew I'd have to go back…especially after what you two told me…it's just…it's so close to the anniversary, I was honestly expecting that I would have had to go back earlier than this. Before the memories would haunt me again…"

 _Sitting on the fountain lost in thought and playing with a purring Plushtrap's ears, Shadow didn't hear Nightmare approach. When he crouched down in front of her, she startled, eyes wild and panicked before she recognized him._

" _Oh…hello Nightmare. I'm sorry, I was thinking about something…"_

 _Nightmare chuckled._

" _Must have been something pretty terrifying, to make you startle like that. Not much can scare you, after training with Fredbear and myself for so long. What could be scarier than a pair of beings that exist to create fear?"_

 _Smiling ruefully, Shadow shook her head._

" _No…just…it's almost been a year since that night. I haven't really thought about it, about the fact that so many innocents are dying in a pizzeria with no warning. What's supposed to be a simple job, turned into a deadly game of cat and mouse. Now though, it's all I can think about…all I can see is my friend, again and again, dying in that suit. Dying at the hands of robots made to entertain children…"_

 _Shadow frowned._

" _I wish I could do something..."_

 _Nightmare smirked, causing Shadow to look at him warily._

" _I don't like it when you get that look on your face. Last time you did, I ended up with my hair dyed PINK for a whole week. I hate pink."_

" _I'm afraid you're going to hate this too little Shadow. It will take time, but Fredbear and I shall also train you how to fight with your abilities, once you finish learning the basics. In time, you shall return to Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria and…deal…with the problem. One way or the other."_

 _Shadow sighed._

" _You're right. I do hate that…but if it ends this madness, this senseless slaughter…then yes. I'll return one day."_

Sighing, Shadow stood up.

"That should be it Fredbear. Can you two maybe stop going at it for ONE day? I'm getting tired of having to reattach missing pieces!"

Nightmare chuckled, helping the other bear up.

"I'm afraid not my dear. One tends to get on each other's nerves when you're stuck together for eternity. Now, I do believe you said you had more than one question?"

Shadow brightened, smiling widely.

"Oh yeah! It's just…I remembered that you said one of the things you were reluctant to teach me was to bind my soul to something, like, say…an animatronic?"

Fredbear narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms.

"Of course you would remember that."

Shadow shrugged, smiling innocently.

"Well see, I've been working on a little project since I got out of school, and I'm finally done! I uh…just need some help carrying it here. It's really, really heavy."

With a sigh, Fredbear waved a paw at Nightmare.

"She's YOUR student brother, you can help her."

Nightmare rolled his eyes and followed the excited human through the portal, arriving in a small room. Flexing his claws, Nightmare looked around the little area, taking in the tattered brown couch, and tv leaning haphazardly on a stand. At the surprised squeak from Shadow, he turned to look at her with a questioning look. She blushed, talking quickly.

"You're…uh…smoky. I wasn't expecting your form to kinda…fall apart? I can see right through to your endoskeleton underneath! Is that because you're in the mortal realm? Is it an unconscious choice or can you be solid if you wanted? Is your energy limited at all in the mortal realm? Are you even solid at all any more?"

Nightmare chuckled.

"So many questions, so very quickly. I look like this in the mortal realm because I choose to, little Shadow. I assure you, I am just as solid as before. Now, where is this project of yours?"

Smiling brightly again, Shadow dashed out of the room and down a hallway, sticking her head out of the room when Nightmare didn't follow.

"It's down here! I couldn't keep it in the living room, someone would have seen it if they came to visit me…not that anyone does. Better safe than sorry I always say though."

Ducking slightly in order to fit down the hallway, Nightmare followed, squeezing carefully through the doorway. Tilting his head slightly, he watched as Shadow leaned over something in the corner, singing quietly to herself as she pulled back a sheet, revealing her project.

Leaning against the wall was a bear animatronic, light reflecting off the half-lidded golden eyes. Its fur was black, much like his own, the belly and muzzle a shade of grey. Its cheeks were a rosy red, as well as red covers for the knee joints, and a red top hat and bowtie.

"I uh…hope you don't mind. I kind of based it off you. Both you and Fredbear have done so much for me over the years, but you're the one that's always there for me if I need help, so I wanted to kinda pay tribute to you when I designed it."

Smiling softly, Nightmare placed a paw on Shadow's shoulder, silencing her.

"I'm honoured little one. Now let us get this back to the realm of nightmares, this mortal realm is extremely loud to my senses."

Nightmare picked up the inactive animatronic, stepping through a portal and Shadow darting in behind him as it closed.

Finding herself back in the courtyard, she grinned at the disgruntled look that Fredbear gave the inactive animatronic.

"C'mon Fredbear, don't be jealous! I made its eyes gold to match your fur."

Fredbear snorted.

"I'm not jealous. I just find it a bit ridiculous."

Shadow snickered.

"Sure you're not. You wanna teach me how to bind myself to it then?"

"No."

Nightmare chuckled.

"Though he has aided in some lessons, I am technically your teacher little Shadow. Before we begin, I would like to know why you wish to learn this. Even one small mistake can leave your soul drifting, or trapped eternally here with us. I see that look on your face child, and it as not as wonderful as you might believe. As much as we enjoy your company little Shadow, being trapped here eternally would leave us no choice but to do to you what we do to others."

Looking at the ground, Shadow frowned.

"It's a backup plan. If I can't do anything at the pizzeria with plan A, plan B is to pose as a new animatronic and do what I need to."

Sighing, Nightmare nodded.

"Very well. I shall teach you. Listen carefully…."

 **Cya next time guys! Don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you thought!**


	4. Stolen

**Ladies and gentlemen, I am on a roll with this story. I'm having so much fun writing it that you shouldn't expect updates to slow down for awhile. Read, review, and I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I've enjoyed writing it!**

 _Three days later_

Shadow hummed quietly to herself, pulling her hair up into a ponytail and smiling at the small rabbit sitting on the bathroom counter.

"Alright Plush, I'm going to need you to stay here and behave while I'm gone. I'm going to the pizzeria to apply for the night guard position. If the policy is anything like it was 10 years ago, I'll be hired right away."

Plushtrap tilted his head and chirped at her, little arms crossed stubbornly,

"No Plush, I am not bringing you with me when I apply. How about I bring you with me when I go in for the shift?"

Tapping his chin, Plushtrap finally nodded, getting a grin out of Shadow.

"You're just a regular little troublemaker, aren't you?"

Making a clicking noise and smiling up at Shadow, he waved good-bye as she headed out the door.

Locking it behind her, Shadow sighed, smile falling away to be replaced by a troubled look. Going back to the pizzeria was going to be hard, but it had to be done to protect as many innocents as she could.

Two bus trips later, she was standing in front of the pizzeria, brightly lit sign displaying a cheerful cartoon version of Freddy, Bonnie and Chica. Snorting, Shadow pulled the doors in and walked up to the counter.

"Hi, I'm here to enquire about the night guard position?"

The girl behind the counter looked at Shadow like she was crazy.

"I'm not sure you really want to apply for that position…"

Shadow frowned and crossed her arms.

"I wonder what your employer would say if they learned you were trying to discourage people from applying for such an important position. Why, you risk your own job! What happens to you if the animatronics that make this place so popular end up stolen or broken because there was no night guard?"

The girl had gone pale, shaking her head.

"Those…things…don't need a guard. If anything, the thief would be the one at risk."

Shadow smiled sweetly, eyes betraying her forced calm.

"You either lead me to your manager, or I find them myself, get you fired, and apply for your job instead."

The girl squeaked, rushing out from behind the counter.

"This way, we have to go through the main party room to get to the back."

Shadow shrugged, following the girl. Passing through the main room, she stopped to look at the stage, examining her targets.

Freddy was in the middle of the stage, slightly ahead of the other two. His movements were jerky, and there was a handprint on his face. His hat and bowtie were starting to fray at the edges, and most of his fur was dirty.

Bonnie didn't seem to be any better. His purple fur was stained with pizza grease and dirt, and his bowtie was stained and beginning to fray. His left ear seemed to be barely hanging on, endoskeleton beginning to show. His guitar was battered, one of the strings gone.

Chica, if possible, was the worst of the three. Her yellow "feathers" showed every spec of dirt, and she seemed to have flour in various places. The cupcake on the plate that she held was stained, candle starting to fall off.

Sighing, Shadow couldn't help but sorry for them. Everything that would happen over the next week depended on their actions. Noticing the girl staring at her from the corner of her eye, Shadow turned to continue following, ignoring the look of pity from the girl.

When they reached a door at the end of the hallway, the girl reached out and knocked, wishing Shadow a quiet good luck as she turned to go back to the front. Rolling her eyes, Shadow opened the door and walked in.

Sitting at a desk was a man in his late 40s, with dirty blond hair, brown eyes examining her carefully. Frowning, he motioned for Shadow to take a seat.

"So, you here to apply for the night guard position?"

Shadow nodded.

"Yeah. Place I'm currently working at closes at the end of the week, need a new job as soon as possible. Saw the add in the paper."

The man leaned back in his chair, holding out a tablet. Taking it curiously, she saw it had a camera feed on it for the main room. Clearing his throat, he leaned forward.

"Care to explain why you took a good long look at the animatronics? Last guard we hired that did that tried to take them apart."

Shadow frowned, handing it back.

"I feel sorry for them. I was hoping I could talk to you about something when my first week was over, but now is as good a time as any. I've got a degree in animatronic programming and engineering. I could repair them, make them good as new. Could smooth out their movement, making them look a bit more real for the kids. I could update all their programming too…I'm sure it's ancient by now."

The man snorted.

"I'm sure you'll change your tune by the end of the week. Your shift is from 12am to 6am but be here a bit early and be in the office before 12. There will be a phone recording at the beginning of each night to guide you. You can pick up a uniform from the front on your way out. We'll discuss hiring you on as a mechanic at the end of the week."

Shadow was unceremoniously shoved out of the office, door slammed closed behind her. Wandering back towards the front, she peeked in on a dark room, starry purple curtains in the back pulled shut. Walking into the room, she went closer to the curtains, pulling them back slightly to reveal the damaged animatronic fox. His costume was completely gone on his legs, and had holes torn in the torso. Jaw hanging loosely, Shadow could see the dim glow in his eye that showed he was online. Smiling, she spoke softly to him.

"Hey Foxy…it must be a pretty lonely existence back here. No one deserves this…"

Sighing, she stood up straight, laughing quietly when he moved slightly, tilting his head towards her.

"Not afraid to move where someone other than the night guard can see, eh? You miss the spotlight, don't you? I wish I could repair you now, but I can't…I have to survive a week. And I know you guys won't make that easy on me. Don't worry though…I'll do my best Foxy. I won't let you all rot away and suffer."

Turning and leaving the room, Shadow could feel Foxy's gaze following her. Stopping by the front desk, she grabbed her uniform and headed home.

When she arrived back, she tilted her head and examined the door. The lock was broken, door slightly ajar. Grinning slightly to herself, she went around to the garage and pulled back a tarp, revealing the animatronic she had built. Sitting down on the ground beside it, she closed her eyes, and with a sigh, stopped breathing. The animatronics eyes snapped open, body twitching slightly as power flooded the systems.

Heaving herself to her feet, Shadow flexed her hands, mechanical parts whirring. Taking a few tentative steps, she nodded, satisfied.

"Time to go have some fun."

With a wicked grin, she stepped through the darkness, appearing in her dimly lit living room. She could see the vague shape of someone hunched over her tv stand, looking through the drawers. Plushtrap sat quietly behind the tv, staying as still as he could. Seeing her eyes glowing in the low light, Plushtrap grinned. Shadow nodded her head towards the man and mimed scaring him. Plushtrap moved slowly closer to the man, while Shadow moved as quietly as possible to stand close behind him, towering over him.

Pausing to brush his hair out of his face, Mahamed kept searching through the drawers. Though he hated to steal, he was desperate enough to check a few houses for loose cash. Hearing movement on the tv stand, he looked up, expecting to see a cat. Instead, what he got was a tattered looking rabbit with extremely sharp teeth. Making a strangled noise, he backed up slowly, only to freeze when his back hit something solid and extremely cold. Turning his head, he was greeted by the site of a large, black bear animatronic. When it turned its head downward to look at him, he felt frozen with fear, the glowing golden eyes holding him transfixed. Managing to shake off his fear, he tried to dart away, only to get stopped in his tracks by the animatronic grabbing the back of his shirt to pull him backwards and lifting him to eye level. It spoke, its voice sounding female.

"Leave. Don't let me catch you here again or next time you won't be leaving this house in one piece."

Nodding frantically, he darted out the open door and down the street when the animatronic dropped him.

"This neighbourhood is crazy…"

Shadow watched the open door for a few moments, trying to ignore the feeling she felt bubbling in her chest. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, she walked out into the garage, picking up her limp body and brought it inside to lie it on the couch. Sliding down the wall to sit, she buried her face in her paws.

"What's wrong with me Plush? It felt…good…scaring him like that."

Plushtrap made a soft clicking noise, climbing up her legs to sit in her lap, cuddling close to her chest. He tapped her nose lightly, making it squeak and getting a smile. The smile fell away though when the feeling came back stronger, a deep satisfaction at terrifying some poor stranger. Seeing the frown, Plushtrap jumped down and darted away. He returned a few minutes later to find Shadow in the exact same position, head hidden in her arms.

Feeling a large paw on her shoulder, Shadow looked up to find Nightmare in her living room, eyes soft.

"Hello little Shadow."

Shadow stood up and wrapped her arms around Nightmare, burying her face in his chest. Awkwardly rubbing her back, Nightmare sighed.

"I should have warned you about this, little Shadow. I did not think it would affect you this badly. Being what you are, any fear, whether you caused it or not, will give you this feeling. It is what my kind live off of, and though you are half mortal, you are also one of us."

Shadow sighed and pulled away.

"I'll be right back…"

Nightmare watched as she walked down the hallway and turned into an unused room. A minute passed before he heard movement behind him, and turned to watch as Shadow opened her eyes, sitting up and brushing her hair out of her face. Nightmare tilted his head. It was much easier to see how it affected her mortal body than the animatronic body that she had learned to bind her soul to. Her eyes, though showing her intense dislike of the feeling, were practically glowing. He could feel the aura of power she gave off and frowned. She was one of the most powerful hybrids he had ever seen. It was both relieving and worrying. On one hand, she had the power to defend against all but the most powerful beings. The problem was that the powerful ones would most likely come looking for her, in an attempt to break her and use her.

"Is there a reason you're staring at me like that Nightmare?"

Nightmare blinked and looked at Shadow.

"I'm sorry little one…I was thinking. You are extremely powerful, and it worries me that many may come after you for that power. I loathe to admit it, but I am afraid you will have to get used to that feeling little Shadow."

Sighing, Nightmare placed a paw on Shadow's head, patting her gently.

"Fear will make you stronger, and you will need your strength should anything come after you."

Shadow frowned, sitting back down on the couch.

"I had a feeling you'd say that…."

Nightmare chuckled.

"Rest well little Shadow. I do believe you have a night shift to do tonight."

With a parting wave, Nightmare disappeared back through the portal. Sighing, Shadow set an alarm on her phone, and curling up on the couch with Plushtrap in her arms, fell asleep.

 **And here we have the first introduction of Mahamed, and some reasoning for something I have planned later on….enjoy!**


	5. Clean Up

**Bit of quick information…I'm not going to really spend much time on the nights. This is actually only going to be a small part of the story, a way to get things going the way I want them to. I took the phone calls word by word from the first game.**

 **I am sincerely sorry about the mess up with last chapter's update. The website hasn't been working great lately, I get a lot of error messages. (Also, wow, 3 chapters in two days? I'm just all over this story!) Anyways! Finally we make it to the night shift. I wanted to do it the last chapter, but I thought of something else and by the time I finished it, I was past 2k words. I don't like dragging chapters out. Read, review, enjoy!**

When the alarm went off at 10, Shadow groaned and tossed it across the room. Sitting up, she heard a thump as Plushtrap went tumbling off where he had been curled up on her back, chattering angrily. Chuckling, she picked him back up and sat him on her lap.

"Well Plush, we're going to have quite the evening. What do you think, play it safe or rile them up?"

Plushtrap closed one eye and made a humming sound, before shrugging. Shadow nodded.

"Yeah, play it safe until we figure out their patterns. I mean, it can't be that bad…can it?"

Sighing, Shadow rubbed her face.

"I probably just jinxed us buddy. You stay here, I need to get ready."

 _An hour and a half later, outside the pizzeria_

Shadow grumbled and adjusted the uniform top, tugging at the collar.

"This thing is stupid…it's tight and I can't bloody move. How am I supposed to run for my life if I can't move?"

Plushtrap clicked curiously at her from his place on her shoulder.

"No, I'm not going to go looking for trouble. I'm not just going to sit there in the office and let them kill me if I run out of power though. They have another thing coming to them if they assume I'm anything like any previous guard."

Plushtrap grinned and waved a paw in the air.

"Yeah, yeah. Come on Plush, let's get in there."

Pushing open the door and walking into the dark pizzeria, she grinned. If things went wrong, there were plenty of shadows for her to play with. Striding into the party room, she looked around the moonlit area. The tables were lined up, chairs scattered haphazardly throughout the room. Looking at her watch, she shrugged and started putting chairs back in their proper places, ignoring the watchers on the stage.

Unable to move more than his eyes, Freddy tracked the new guard as she straightened the room, fixing chairs and other small things to put the room back into order. If that wasn't strange enough, the guard had a small, animatronic rabbit clinging to her shoulder. It would frequently nuzzle her face, getting a smile, and the one time it turned to growl at him, she had tapped it on the nose and given it a quiet scolding. Usually the guards had no idea what they were walking into when they joined the staff at his pizzeria, but this one seemed to know, and almost anticipate it.

At five to twelve, Shadow dusted her hands off and turned to grin tauntingly at the 3 animatronics on stage.

"Don't think I've forgotten what time it is. I'll see you later guys. I look forward to our game."

She turned, walking down the hallway to the office and out of sight.

A few minutes later, Freddy could feel his joints loosen up. Growling, he took a step forward, but was stopped by Bonnie.

"C'mon Freddy, you know we need to follow our own rules. Unless she runs out of power, you don't go anywhere until her third shift."

Chica nodded, placing her hands on her hips.

"Yeah! What do we do with our time if we catch this one first night? They don't hire a new one until the end of the week!"

Freddy sighed, smiling at his two lifetime companions.

"I suppose you're right. Besides…she's overconfident. It's those ones that screw up the fastest. Usual first night tactics if you would. Give her a good scare…and see if you can discover anything about that small rabbit!"

Back in the office, Shadow was humming quietly to herself until the alarm on her watch went off. Silencing it, she picked up the familiar tablet and swapped it to the main show stage. Bonnie and Chica seemed to be talking Freddy down from something, and she had a pretty good idea what.

"Oops…seems I pissed him off already Plush. That could be a bit of a problem."

The small rabbit rolled his eyes, chomping his teeth together.

"No, you can't go gnaw his leg off. I'm sure he'd notice before you finished anyways buddy."

When the phone started ringing, Shadow jumped, before remembering the manager had told her there would be something of a tutorial phone call every evening for the first week. Hitting the play button, she listened.

"Hello, hello? Uh, I wanted to record a message for you to help you get settled in on your first night. Um, I actually worked in that office before you. I'm finishing up my last week now, as a matter of fact. So, I know it can be a bit overwhelming, but I'm here to tell you there's nothing to worry about. Uh, you'll do fine. So, let's just focus on getting you through your first week. Okay?"

Snorting, Shadow shook her head.

"Uh, let's see, first there's an introductory greeting from the company that I'm supposed to read. Uh, it's kind of a legal thing, you know. Um, "Welcome to Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. A magical place for kids and grown-ups alike, where fantasy and fun come to life. Fazbear Entertainment is not responsible for damage to property or person. Upon discovering that damage or death has occurred, a missing person report will be filed within 90 days, or as soon property and premises have been thoroughly cleaned and bleached, and the carpets have been replaced."

Scowling, Shadow glared at the phone.

"Yeah, yeah…in other words, you don't give a shit about your night guards."

"Blah blah blah, now that might sound bad, I know, but there's really nothing to worry about. Uh, the animatronic characters here do get a bit quirky at night, but do I blame them? No. If I were forced to sing those same stupid songs for twenty years and I never got a bath? I'd probably be a bit irritable at night too. So, remember, these characters hold a special place in the hearts of children and we need to show them a little respect, right? Okay."

"They'll get my respect when they earn it."

"So, just be aware, the characters do tend to wander a bit. Uh, they're left in some kind of free roaming mode at night. Uh...Something about their servos locking up if they get turned off for too long. Uh, they used to be allowed to walk around during the day too. But then there was The Bite of '87. Yeah. I-It's amazing that the human body can live without the frontal lobe, you know?"

Shadow growled at the phone.

"Uh, now concerning your safety, the only real risk to you as a night watchman here, if any, is the fact that these characters, uh, if they happen to see you after hours probably won't recognize you as a person. They'll p-most likely see you as a metal endoskeleton without its costume on. Now since that's against the rules here at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, they'll probably try to...forcefully stuff you inside a Freddy Fazbear suit. Um, now, that wouldn't be so bad if the suits themselves weren't filled with crossbeams, wires, and animatronic devices, especially around the facial area. So, you could imagine how having your head forcefully pressed inside one of those could cause a bit of discomfort...and death. Uh, the only parts of you that would likely see the light of day again would be your eyeballs and teeth when they pop out the front of the mask, heh."

Shadow sighed, rubbing her head.

"I almost suffered that fate myself…if things were different, I wouldn't be here."

"Y-Yeah, they don't tell you these things when you sign up. But hey, first day should be a breeze. I'll chat with you tomorrow. Uh, check those cameras, and remember to close the doors only if absolutely necessary. Gotta conserve power. Alright, good night."

Shadow hummed, taking in the information.

"Basically, mostly things I already knew. Been keeping an eye on them for me Plush?"

The rabbit nodded, chattering happily and holding up the tablet, showing the main stage with only Bonnie missing. Plush switched to the main party room camera, revealing Bonnie standing in between some tables, staring at the camera. Grinning mischievously, Shadow swapped to another camera before quickly swapping back to the party room, getting a scowl out of the purple rabbit.

The rest of the night continued much the same, Bonnie and Chica doing their best to get the guard, while Shadow did everything she could to piss them off. Close to 6am, Bonnie and Chica stomped back to the stage to complain to Freddy.

"She. Is. Insufferable. She always knows if I'm coming down the hallway Freddy! I can't even get halfway to the door before it gets slammed shut in my face, and I can hear her laughing. She doesn't stop!"

Chica nodded.

"It's much the same for me. She apologizes to me, but other than that, I can't get close."

Freddy sighed.

"The little rabbit…were you able to figure anything out about it?

Bonnie scowled.

"No. It was always hiding when I came by. Did you have any luck Chica?"

The chicken clapped her hands together happily.

"I can tell you he's absolutely adorable. Every time I saw him, he was either curled up on the guard's lap, or sitting on the edge of the desk playing with the security tablet. He seems to trust her, even going so far as to shutdown while she's holding him."

Freddy frowned and tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"That little rabbit must be helping her somehow. Do you two ever see him out in the hallway watching for you?"

Bonnie and Chica both shook their heads, earning another sigh from Freddy.

"I suppose we'll have to try harder the rest of the week. Back to your spots, our free roam will shut off in a few moments."

Climbing back onto the stage, Bonnie picked up his guitar and Chica picked up her cupcake. The clock chimed, and they could feel their joints freeze up again, ready for another day of stationary performing. The guard walked in, and sat down at one of the tables, staring at them. Chica couldn't help but look at the girl, who smiled when she noticed the chicken's gaze. Chica could practically feel the disapproval radiation off Freddy, so she looked away again, eyes staring at the far wall.

About an hour later, the manager walked in to find Shadow sitting at a table still, playing with the small animatronic rabbit.

"Night guard. What are you still doing here, and what is that…thing."

Shadow rolled her eyes.

"I wanted to ask you a question. As for this…thing…as you put it, this is Plushtrap. I built him to help me around my home and workplace. Just an example of some of the work I can do."

The manager crossed his arms.

"Ask your question then night guard."

"I know you're staying closed on Wednesday to get some work done on the building. I was hoping to come in and give them a good cleaning. It will make my work easier after this week is done."

The manager smirked.

"You wouldn't be getting paid for it."

Shadow shrugged.

"Okay."

The manager blinked, clearly surprised by the answer.

"Very well then…Wednesday it is."

Up on the stage, Freddy could feel his processor spinning. The guard was going to be getting close to them where she could easily mess with their systems. Angrily, he vowed to himself that she would die the next evening, damn his own rules.

 **Mmm, Freddy seems a bit angry that he's going to be getting a bath. Why, it's almost as if he doesn't trust Shadow! I hope you enjoyed the newest chapter. Don't forget to drop a review!**


	6. Foxy

**Ohboy. Here we go again. This one took a bit longer than I wanted, but I eventually got it written. I have a few things to work out before I get the next chapter out guys, so it might be a little bit. If all goes well, two or three days at the most. If not…well. Maybe a week. Hopefully not. Anyways! We've got Night 2, and BATH TIME. This one will be a bit longer than my last few. I had so much fun writing it. Angry Freddy is too much fun to write.**

Shadow hummed quietly to herself as she stood at the counter making dinner. It would be the second night working at Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria again, and she was extremely unsure. Foxy hadn't made a peep the night before, and Freddy had stayed on stage. It had seemed relatively easy, finishing the night with about 18% power left, but she knew it would get harder as the week went on. Reaching for a knife, she grinned at Plushtrap who was sitting on the counter next to her playing with another one of her little projects.

"Plush, buddy, don't get that all dirty. I need them nice and clean to give to Nightmare and Fredbear. I know you like them, I'll make you one eventually, okay?"

Plush made a disappointed clicking noise, placing it carefully down beside the other one. Chuckling, Shadow gave his head a little pat, and picked up her plate.

"How about you carry them? I'll have my hands full with my supper, we might as well go visit them before I have to head to the night shift."

Bouncing up, Plushtrap picked up the two items and took a leap, landing on Shadow's shoulder and brandishing them in her face.

"Yes Plush, you can give those to them. Now come on, can't waste too much time, I do have work tonight."

Stepping through the open portal, Shadow rolled her eyes in annoyance when she caught the distant sound of fighting.

"Of course…why should I expect anything different. Y'know what, I'm not fixing them this time. They can wait for the damage to heal."

With a sigh, Shadow headed towards the castle, ignoring the snickering Plushtrap on her shoulder. When they made it to the courtyard, Shadow giggled. Nightmare was missing his jaw again, and Fredbear seemed to be missing both arms.

"You two seem to be a bit of a mess. Going to be a bit hard to give you your presents, especially since you seem to be lacking any arms to hold it with Fredbear."

Fredbear turned to look at Shadow, Nightmare taking advantage of the distraction and tackling him to the ground. Fredbear sighed, glaring at his brother.

"Was that necessary? I'm not going to be able to get up now."

Though he was missing his jaw, Shadow could practically feel Nightmare's smug smirk. She laughed, shaking her head.

"I wasn't going to repair you two tonight, but if I finish my dinner fast enough, I'll do what I can."

Fredbear stared curiously at her plate.

"What is it? We don't know many different mortal foods…and it looks a touch strange."

Chewing on her mouthful, Shadow shrugged, making a gesture with her fork. Fredbear rolled his eyes, and Nightmare just shook his head. When she finished, she put the plate down on the edge of the fountain and dug around in the water, pulling out Nightmare's jaw.

"Honestly, is it your favourite past time to take Nightmare's jaw off and toss it in the fountain? It's the only place I ever find the damn thing. Just for that, you can wait. I'm doing Nightmare first."

Fredbear rolled his eyes, ignoring the amused Plushtrap that had made its way into his lap. Pulling out her tools again, Shadow quickly reattached Nightmare's jaw. Looking around the courtyard, she found Fredbear's left arm tossed in a corner, and his right one stuck in a dead tree.

"I'm not even going to ask how those got there, but anyways. I only had the best food ever for dinner. I'm sure you two have at least heard of French fries, right?"

Nightmare opened and closed his mouth a few times before nodding.

"Indeed. Mortals seem very fond of them. I do not understand the appeal, we tried them once during a trip to the mortal realm."

Shadow snickered.

"Now I've got a mental image of you two looking like you normally do, standing in line at McDonald's. That's going to amuse me for the next little while. But yeah. What I had is something called poutine. It's French fries covered in cheese curds and smothered in gravy. It's fattening, and only the best tasting thing in the world!"

Fredbear made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a snort, shaking his head.

"I don't understand mortals."

Once both Fredbear's arms were fixed, Shadow stood up and dusted her hands, tools fading away into the darkness.

"Plush, please tell me you didn't put the presents on the ground?"

Plushtrap shook his head, holding up the two small items. Shadow grinned and took them from Plushtrap, hiding them carefully from the curious nightmares.

"Now…I'm only going to give you two these presents if you promise to stop going after each other for at least the rest of this week. I'd like to go a few days without having to fix something broken. I'd also like to know that at least one of you is available should things go a bit…wrong…at the pizzeria."

Looking at each other, the two nightmares shrugged, Fredbear answering for both of them.

"Very well. We shall hold off on taking each other apart until next week."

Shadow rolled her eyes.

"That's probably the best I'm going to get. Anyways…I've actually been working on these for awhile. I'm great with mechanical things…not so much a needle and thread. I finished them this morning after I got home from the pizzeria."

Smiling, Shadow handed the two stuffed bears to Nightmare and Fredbear. Nightmare examined the stuffed toy, careful not to tear it with his claws. It had short black fur and wore a yellow top hat and bowtie. Beside him, Fredbear stared at his, eyes softening. The fur was a golden yellow, wearing a purple top hat and bowtie.

"These are very well made. You don't give yourself enough credit."

Nightmare nodded.

"Indeed. You are very talented little Shadow. Now, I do believe you have a night shift to get ready for?"

Sighing, Shadow scowled.

"I know you two have more info about that place that could help me. Why won't you tell me?"

Fredbear laughed, making Shadow scowl even deeper.

"Because you're not ready for that information yet. Soon."

"Fine. Jeez. You two are so overprotective, then you go and pull shit like this. I'm going, but I expect answers by the end of the week!"

Beckoning Plushtrap over, Shadow turned her back on the two nightmares, stepping through the portal. When it closed behind her, she sighed again.

"Come on Plush…we should get going."

Shadow stared at the pizzeria doors before looking at her watch and sighing. Pulling it open, she walked in, closing and locking it behind her. Plushtrap was sitting on her left shoulder, legs dangling over her front and head leaned against hers. Walking through the party room, she made sure to speak loud enough for the 3 animatronics on stage to hear her.

"Well Plush, I think we can expect the game to get a little more interesting tonight. Perhaps I'll even get to have a little fun myself. Heh."

Smirking at the low growl she could hear coming from Freddy, she waved and walked to the security room. With a beep from her watch signalling that it was 12, she could hear the power shift into the limited night power. Right on cue, the phone rang. Rolling her eyes, she handed the tablet to Plushtrap and let the recording play.

"Uhh, Hello? Hello? Uh, well, if you're hearing this and you made it to day two, uh, congrats! I-I won't talk quite as long this time since Freddy and his friends tend to become more active as the week progresses. Uhh, it might be a good idea to peek at those cameras while I talk just to make sure everyone's in their proper place. You know..."

At the alarmed squeak from Plushtrap, she raised an eyebrow before turning back to the recording.

"Uh... Interestingly enough, Freddy himself doesn't come off stage very often. I heard he becomes a lot more active in the dark though, so, hey, I guess that's one more reason not to run out of power, right? I-I also want to emphasize the importance of using your door lights. There are blind spots in your camera views, and those blind spots happen to be right outside of your doors. So if-if you can't find something, or someone, on your cameras, be sure to check the door lights. Uh, you might only have a few seconds to react... Uh, not that you would be in any danger, of course. I'm not implying that."

Shadow grumbled quietly to herself.

"No, of course not…why would I be in ANY sort of danger. Not like they're actively trying to kill me or anything."

"Also, check on the curtain in Pirate Cove from time to time. The character in there seems unique in that he becomes more active if the cameras remain off for long periods of time. I guess he doesn't like being watched. I don't know. Anyway, I'm sure you have everything under control! Uh, talk to you soon."

Tilting her head, she could hear voices down the hall. Looking at Plushtrap who was tugging frantically on her arm, she took the tablet from him and opened it to the hallway camera. Eyes going wide, she closed the door just as Freddy came into sight in the window, a furious scowl on his face. Behind him in the shadows, she could see a worried looking Chica and Bonnie.

"Ehh…hi?"

Freddy just growled.

"Don't you 'hi' me. Open the door and I'll make it quick."

Shadow just smirked.

"You really think it's going to be that easy Fazbear? One thing you'll learn about me fast…I don't give up."

Chica tugged on Freddy's arm, trying to keep her voice low.

"Freddy, you're breaking your own rules. You don't start chasing the guard until their third shift unless they run out of power!"

Looking at Plushtrap, Shadow hummed.

"It seems they have rules about the way they murder innocents, and big bad Fazbear is breaking them. Perhaps it's time we broke the rules a bit too, what do you think Plush?"

Making a chattering sound, Plushtrap jumped into Shadow's arms and made a taunting gesture at the animatronics in the window. Freddy narrowed his eyes, and Shadow smirked at him.

"Time to play this game OUR way Fazbear."

Hitting the door button to open it, Shadow dashed out of the open door and slid between Freddy's legs, disappearing into the darkness and popping out of a shadow in the party room.

"What do you want to bet that this rule breaking of Freddy's is because I'm giving them a bath tomorrow?"

Plushtrap made a dissatisfied sound and shook his head. Shadow just chuckled.

"Yeah, I wouldn't bet against me either buddy. So…where should we hide for the next…" Shadow glanced at her watch. "4 and a half hours."

Plushtrap covered his right eye.

"Pirate's Cove? You really think that Foxy will leave me alone, after the phone call tonight? Seems a bit unlikely…though I suppose I can try. Shouldn't be hard to get away from him if things don't work out."

Shrugging, she turned to look down the hallway as she heard an angry screech and saw Freddy charging towards her. She just smiled innocently and waved as she stepped backwards into another shadow, this time appearing in Pirate's Cove. Knocking gently on the doorway, she went still as Foxy pulled back his curtain.

"Now if it ain't the new guard. What brings ye to old Foxy's cove lass?"

Shadow rubbed the back of her head.

"Well…ah…"

Foxy chuckled.

"Weren't expectin' old Cap'n Foxy to leave ye be?"

"Ah…no, not really. You all seem to have a pretty big grudge against whoever is in the night guard uniform."

Foxy nodded.

"Aye, but 'tis something that old Foxy can ignore. T'was a male guard that started all this."

Hearing noises down the hall, Shadow looked down the hallway behind her, before looking back at Foxy.

"I'm sorry to ask, but do you mind if I hide here for a few hours? I seem to have pissed Freddy off enough somehow that he's broken his own rules and I'm now being hunted down."

Foxy laughed.

"Aye lass, ye can hide here. There be an old ship prop with a sizable hiding spot."

Smiling gratefully, Shadow slipped into the room, and behind the pirate ship. Finding the spot Foxy was talking about, she made herself comfortable. She could hear Foxy pull his curtains shut, then a few minutes later, heavy footsteps and Freddy's voice.

"Foxy! Come out here please."

Hearing the fox grumble quietly to himself, Shadow grinned.

"Arr…what ye be wanting Fazbear?"

"Have you seen the night guard? She's been doing some sort of teleporting all over the pizzeria."

Foxy growled.

"There be no landlubber in me cove. Leave me be Fazbear."

Freddy sighed.

"Fine Foxy, but if you see her, grab a hold of her. We can't let her survive to 6."

Foxy slid the curtain closed again, muttering.

"That Fazbear…don't know when to leave well enough alone, he doesn't. Fer what reason is he so mad at ye lass?"

Shadow grinned sheepishly.

"I uh…know this place is closed tomorrow, so I'm going to give Chica, Bonnie and him a good wash. They're covered in pizza grease and other things. There's a handprint on Freddy's muzzle for crying out loud."

Foxy nodded.

"Aye, that be making sense. Fazbear doesn't like anyone close enough to possibly tamper with his systems."

Shadow hummed, absentmindedly patting Plushtrap.

"Can you think of anything that may make him less nervous while I'm giving him that much needed bath?"

Foxy tapped his hook against his loose jaw, eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"Perhaps having his free roam on while ye do him would work."

Nodding, Shadow leaned back against the wall.

"Maybe…"

For the next few hours, the three sat in silence, Foxy wandering around, and Plushtrap in shutdown mode in Shadow's lap as she petted him. When it finally hit 6 am, Shadow stood up and stretched, a dazed Plushtrap clinging to her shoulder. Glancing at Foxy, Shadow smiled at him.

"Thank you captain. I owe you one."

Foxy just waved at her.

"No problem lass. Come visit old Foxy again some time."

Slipping out of Pirate's Cove, Shadow made her way to the main party room. The other three were back on the stage, and Freddy looked absolutely pissed. His eyes were narrowed to slits, and if looks could kill, she would be dead many times over. Sighing, she went down to the supply closet, grabbing a few rags and a bucket. Passing through the party room again towards the kitchen, she could hear Freddy growling. Rolling her eyes, she walked through the swinging door and started filling the bucket with hot water, adding in a bit of soap. With a grunt, she picked up the bucket and slowly made her way back into the party room and up to the stage. Setting it down, she crossed her arms and looked at the 3 animatronics.

"Alright, listen up you three. You're getting a nice bath, and I'm going to do what I can with a few minor repairs that hopefully won't get noticed by management. I'll make this as comfortable as possible, which means I'm going to turn on your free roam. Harm me in any way…well. I'm afraid you won't like what happens."

Pulling the bucket up on stage, she went over to Bonnie. Using a nearby step stool, Shadow opened the hatch in the back of his head, flipping the free roam switch and stepping back down. Bonnie turned to look at her, head tilted slightly. Shadow walked back around to where she had put the bucket, picking up one of the rags and dipping it in the water.

"Alright Bonnie, let's start with you. You're just absolutely covered in pizza grease. Your poor bowtie too…all frayed. I'll see if I can find a new one for you later."

Bonnie cleared his throat.

"You're different from other guards. Why?"

Shadow looked up, smiling slightly.

"One thing you need to learn is that not all humans are the same. We have our fair share of the good AND the bad."

Pulling the step stool around, she used it to reach up to Bonnie's face, cleaning carefully around his eyes and muzzle, then moving on to both ears. Once that was done, she thoroughly cleaned the rest of him, scrubbing hard to get off pizza grease and other residues. Stepping back and looking over the curious rabbit, she nodded.

"All clean Bonnie. Mind if I see your guitar for a minute?"

Bonnie frowned and nodded.

"Be careful with it."

Picking it up, Shadow pulled the new string out of her pocket, smiling when Bonnie's face lit up happily. Swiftly pulling off the snapped string, she replaced it with the new one and handed the guitar back to the rabbit. Pulling the stool around the back of Bonnie again, Shadow waited until he was back into position before shutting off his free roam. Passing Freddy, she could practically hear him rattling with the effort of trying to move through the free roam lock. Shadow shook her head, before opening up the back of Chica's head and turning her free roam on. Almost immediately, the chicken spun around and pulled Shadow into her arms. Expecting the worst, Shadow froze, only to be greeted with a soft hug.

"I've been looking forward to being clean for so long! The cleaners won't get near us! They clean the stage around us but they're too afraid to clean us up."

Gently patting Chica's arm, she chuckled nervously.

"Yes, well, you don't exactly have the greatest reputation."

Moving quickly, Shadow gave Chica a good cleaning, paying special attention to her face. Once she was done, she gave Chica a pat on the arm and turned her free roam off. Frowning, she turned to face Freddy.

"Alright Fazbear, listen up. I know you hate the guards. I don't know why. I also know you're nervous as hell, and I think I know why. You're afraid I'm going to change your programming. I promise you, I'm not going to do anything except turn your free roam on and give you a wash."

Rolling her eyes at the rumbling growl when she walked around behind him, Shadow stepped up and quickly flicked the free roam before backing off, hands up, around to the front of Freddy. He stood there, glaring at her as he looked her up and down before finally letting the growl die off. Watching him out of the corner of her eye, she turned and picked up one of the rags, dipping it in the soapy water. When she heard the door to the pizzeria open, she turned her head to stare towards the entrance, raising an eyebrow when the manager walked in. She enjoyed the shocked look on his face when he saw a clean Chica, a clean Bonnie, and Freddy clearly in free roam and in the middle of his wash. Chuckling at him, she turned around fully.

"Hey boss. What's up?"

The man shook his head.

"I thought you were joking when you said you would clean them up without pay."

He eyed the moving bear warily.

"I don't know how you managed to keep him docile while he's in free roam. Any minor maintenance is usually done while they're still locked up, as they've gone after everyone."

Shadow shrugged.

"I have another question to ask you when I'm done here boss."

The man sighed.

"Stop by my office when you're done then."

When the man left, Shadow turned back around to the glaring bear.

"Oh don't look at me like that. It's just a bath. It's not going to hurt you. Neither am I for that matter."

Freddy just growled.

"Make it quick night guard. I don't like you, and the sooner this is over with, the better."

Rolling her eyes, Shadow quickly washed most of Freddy down before frowning at the hand print on his muzzle.

"This stain's going to take a bit of work."

Scrubbing at the stain, Shadow smirked when it started to disappear. When she had almost finished, her hand slipped, and her elbow bumped Freddy's nose. At the sudden squeak, Shadow froze, eyes wide, before starting to giggle. Freddy stared at his nose, cross-eyed, before looking at the giggling night guard. He started to smile, before quickly letting it drop into his usual scowl.

"Yes, night guard, my nose squeaks. Kindly finish up and get out."

Still giggling, Shadow finished scrubbing the handprint off Freddy's muzzle before going back around to shut off his free roam again. Once he was frozen in place again, Shadow took off down the hallway to the manager's office, skidding to a stop and knocking on the door frame.

"Hey boss."

The manager sighed.

"Hello night guard. What do you want."

Shadow rolled her eyes.

"So friendly…but anyways. I wanted to make you another offer. This one to do with Foxy."

The manager stopped what he was doing, looking up at her carefully.

"What exactly is this offer?"

Shadow hummed.

"Weeelll, I want to fix him. I'll pay for any parts out of my own pocket, and I'll have him back by the end of the week. Think of it as…incentive. To hire me as a full-time mechanic at the end of my week."

The man put his hands together, staring at Shadow with narrowed eyes.

"Very well. You have until Saturday morning to return him in working condition. You know where he is. Have fun trying to get him home."

Shadow rolled her eyes and skipped down towards Pirate's Cove, knocking on the door frame.

"Knock, knock Captain. I have a surprise for you."

Peeking out of his curtains, Foxy stared at her curiously.

"And what be that, lass?"

Shadow grinned.

"You're coming home with me until Saturday. I'm going to do my best to fix you up."

Lifting his eye patch with his hook, revealing a second functioning eye, he stared at her amazed. Shadow snickered and made a 'come here' motion.

"Come on Captain, we need to get going. You get to learn how I escape Freddy and the others so quickly!"

Stepping out of his curtained area, Foxy stopped when he got close to her. Holding out her hand, she smiled when Foxy grabbed it, and she pulled him into the darkness.

 **Longest chapter yet. Too many commas. Read, review…enjoy!**


	7. Isabella

**Really early morning posts…yaaay? Anyways, enjoy the chapter!**

Shadow chuckled as they arrived in her living room, Foxy seeming a bit disoriented. With a shake of his head, Foxy straightened up, looking around curiously.

"Lass…did ye just teleport?"

Shadow shrugged.

"Like I told Fazbear…I'm nothing like any guard you've ever met. Anyways…welcome to my humble abode. You've got free reign of the house…except the spare room. I use it for various projects I'm working on. Eh…make yourself comfortable I suppose. I'll start working on you once I wake up."

With a wave at Foxy, Shadow put Plushtrap down and headed down the hallway into a bedroom, closing the door. Foxy looked down at the little rabbit when it chattered at him, crossing his arms.

"And what do ye want, ye little bilge-rat?"

Plushtrap frowned and stomped a foot, causing Foxy to chuckle.

"Ye got spirit…fer a rabbit. What be this black plastic thing?"

Foxy tapped the television gently, getting an excited click out of Plushtrap, who went running for the remote. Turning it on, the little rabbit only grinned when the fox was immediately distracted by the moving pictures. Now his favourite mortal could sleep in peace.

 _Few hours later_

Foxy was still enthralled by the television, Plushtrap sitting on the fox's lap. When the portal opened up beside the tv, Plushtrap leapt up and went running down the hallway. Foxy watched the rabbit curiously as it jumped up and opened the night guard's door before slipping inside. Turning to face the portal, Foxy cocked his head to the side.

"What be this then?"

Foxy crept closer, only to back up quickly when the massive bear came through. Immediately falling into a crouch, Foxy lashed his tail and growled. Nightmare tilted his head curiously as he examined the animatronic fox, a wicked grin stretching across his face.

"Well, well…it seems little Shadow has found herself a guard dog. A stray, if your battered appearance is any indication."

Foxy snarled.

"Ye won't be getting to the night guard ye scurvy dog."

Nightmare just laughed.

"And who are you to stop me little fox?"

When the door slammed open down the hall, both of them looked down the hallway and immediately backed off. Shadow looked furious, bags under her eyes and hair a flyaway mess. Foxy could feel the oppressive aura she gave off, and it made him feel extremely unsafe. Chancing a glance at the black bear, he was slightly pleased to see that it seemed hesitant to continue their verbal scuffle.

Nightmare removed his hat, holding it in front of him.

"Good morning little one. How are you?"

Shadow just growled and pushed past Foxy and Nightmare, heading to the kitchen and starting to make coffee. Plushtrap scampered between the two of them, making a noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh before climbing up Shadow's back and settling on her shoulder. After a few minutes of silence Shadow turned around holding a cup of coffee and wandered over to the couch. Foxy straightened up from his crouch and skirted around the black bear, sitting down on the floor beside the couch.

"From yer lack of reaction lass, I'd be assuming ye know this bear?"

Shadow just grunted and continued to drink her coffee. Nightmare sneered and walked to stand behind the couch.

"I've known her for many years, fox. I don't know why you are here, nor why she is unconcerned enough to sleep while you're here but if you touch one hair on her head..."

Rolling her eyes, Shadow put the coffee mug down.

"Cool it Nightmare. I don't need the overprotectiveness when I've just woken up. To the sounds of you two fighting none the less. I would have slept easily for another two or three hours."

Foxy scratched his jaw with his hook.

"Aye lass, I be sorry about that. 'tis instinct to protect precious treasure."

Nightmare rolled his eyes at the fox before focusing back on Shadow.

"I just wanted to check that you were still in one piece after your second night little Shadow."

Shadow leaned back and looked up at Nightmare.

"I'm sure you can figure it out yourself. I am in one piece."

Nightmare sighed.

"That is not what I meant. When did you become so snarky?"

Shadow grinned cheekily at Nightmare.

"A few months after I started training with you and Fredbear."

With a groan, Shadow stood up and stretched.

"Alright Foxy, you stay here while I go grab my tools. I need to take a look at what kind of parts to get. Nightmare…don't go giving him a hard time. He may be from the pizzeria, but he allowed me to hide in the cove last night."

Nightmare watched her walk down the hallway and growled.

"What did she mean by that, fox? Why would she have had to hide in your cove?"

Foxy shook his head, jaw flapping loosely.

"The lass annoyed old Fazbear somehow. 'e usually doesn't go hunting until the third night of a guard's shift."

Nightmare sighed and put a paw on his face.

"Of course she did."

When Shadow returned to the living room, she found a confused Foxy and an exasperated Nightmare. Chuckling, she motioned for Foxy to sit down and began taking a look at his endoskeleton.

"Well the good news is I can fix your jaw now. I've got the right size of bolts in my garage. Your legs are going to be a bit harder to fix. There's a few pieces I'm going to have to pick up, and I'm going to see if the manager has a second costume for you, because this one is torn to pieces and completely unrepairable."

Shadow smirked.

"You and Nightmare should get along just fine Foxy. You both have a habit of losing your jaws. Please get along while I'm looking for the bolts. And that last comment is aimed at YOU Nightmare…I've known you long enough to know how you can get."

Foxy snickered as Shadow left the room. It died off when he noticed the hostile look he was getting from Nightmare.

"What be yer problem with me, ye black devil?"

Nightmare sneered at him.

"You have no idea what that girl went through because of you and your cohorts. She may have forgiven you, but do not think I am not watching you."

Foxy went to retort, but fell silent when Shadow returned to the room, metal bolts and a wrench in her hands. She stared suspiciously between the two animatronics before rolling her eyes and getting to work on Foxy's jaw. Halfway through the last bolt, the cell phone sitting on the table began to ring with a familiar jingle. Humming quietly, Shadow continued to work.

"Nightmare, do me a favor and put it on speaker please? And both of you shush…I don't need whoever is calling to get curious."

Nightmare leaned over the phone, looking between the various buttons. Rolling her eyes, Shadow sighed.

"Green button that looks like a phone, then the button that looks like a megaphone. I really need to teach you and Fredbear a thing or two about recent technology."

Careful not to scratch the glass, Nightmare hit the buttons Shadow had mentioned, falling still when it turned on.

"Hello?"

"Nicole, honey! You haven't been returning my calls!"

Shadow scowled and tugged on the bolt a little too hard, making Foxy flinch. Gently patting his shoulder to apologize, she got up.

"Hello mother. I've been busy."

Shadow's mother tutted over the phone.

"Honey, you can't go hiding in your home and call it being busy! Enough about that though. I'm in town, and decided I'm going to come visit!"

Shadow's eyes went wide.

"Uuh…bad time mother. My home's a mess, and I'm really busy working on a project."

"Oh, don't be silly dear. I can handle a little mess, and I won't get in your way while you're working. I'll be there in about 10 minutes!"

With a beep, the call was ended and Shadow groaned.

"Of all the times for her to decide to visit. Nightmare…if you're going to insist on staying, which knowing you, you will, then you need to stay hidden. Foxy, you're going to have to hide yourself in the spare room with my other…ah…project. Just until she leaves. Plushtrap…just…behave yourself."

"Aye lass, don't ye worry about old Foxy. Where might this spare room be?"

Shadow started walking down the hallway and motioned for Foxy to follow her. When they arrived at the door beside her room, she opened it and gestured inside. Once he was in, she shut the door, leaving a curious Foxy to stare at the other animatronic in the corner. Back out in the living room, she looked around carefully, finally spotting the dim glow of Nightmare's eyes peeking out from a closet. Snickering, she sat down on the couch and Plushtrap crawled into her lap.

When the doorbell rang a few moments later, Shadow groaned and stood up, Plushtrap scrambling up her back to sit on her shoulder. She flicked his nose playfully, grinning.

"That is not behaving buddy. Just don't go scaring my mother."

Opening the door, Shadow was immediately swept up into a hug by the taller, blond woman. Gently pulling out of the embrace, Shadow turned around and walked back inside, her mother following with a frown.

"Nicole, honey, it's so dark in here! How do you live like this?"

"Mother, I have a night shift. I'm used to the dark."

Shadow's mother frowned again, letting out a little gasp when she noticed the moving rabbit on Shadow's shoulder.

"Nicole…what is that?"

Shadow turned to look back at her mother before looking at Plushtrap sitting on her shoulder.

"Just another one of my projects mother. You know I took animatronic engineering and programming, this is the first one I built. His name is Plushtrap."

"Oh my…well. He's certainly interesting. Would you mind showing me more of your work dear?"

Shadow went to answer, but Plushtrap chomped his jaws together at her mother. Shadow chuckled.

"Plushtrap wants to know what your name is."

Shadow's mother looked at her, a bit flustered.

"How does it have its own thoughts? And how do you understand it?"

Shadow sighed.

"It's got an advanced, learning AI. As for understanding him, I don't, not really. I can just guess at what he's trying to say through his actions. He lets me know if I'm right or wrong."

"I see… well, um, Plushtrap… my name is Isabella."

Plushtrap brightened, happily clicking at Shadow.

"Yes Plush, I know you like the attention, but what did I tell you about behaving yourself?"

Plushtrap shrugged and smiled at the shocked Isabella before jumping off Shadow's shoulder and running down the hallway.

"Well. He's headed towards the room I've been using to work on things. If you really want me to show you what I've been doing, we might as well follow him."

Isabella smiled nervously as her daughter walked down the hallway. Something had changed all those years ago, after her friend was murdered in the pizzeria she worked at. She had grown distant, cold almost. Calls were never returned, and she rarely came to visit even during holidays.

Isabella shook her head when her daughter came to a stop at a door, staring into it cautiously when the door creaked open. Isabella gasped. There were two full sized animatronics standing in the room, both in shutdown mode. One was a fox that looked familiar for some reason, and the other was a bear. Both stood slumped over, half-lidded golden eyes staring ahead. When the door creaked, Isabella jumped, then her daughter walked over to the fox, checking over its jaw.

"Well at least the bolts seem to be holding…"

Pulling out the wrench again, Shadow began tightening one of them.

"Nicole, honey, what are these for?"

Shadow smiled wryly at her mother.

"I took courses on animatronics. I built the bear myself as a bit of a test of my abilities, and I'm repairing old Foxy here for Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria."

Isabella gasped.

"Honey, isn't that where you worked one summer on weekends? Your friend, the other night guard, he died there, didn't he?"

Shadow sighed.

"Yes mother, he died there. I can handle myself, there's nothing to worry about. Look, it was nice seeing you and all, but I need to get ready for work soon, and there aren't any spare beds for you."

Isabella sighed, gently rubbing her daughter's head, frowning when she stiffened under the touch.

"Oh alright Nicole. I'll get out of your hair. Do be careful honey."

Shadow didn't breathe until her mother left, at which point she sighed in relief.

"I'm too tired to deal with this shit…"

 **Next chapter will deal with Foxy finding out what happened all those years ago, along with our night 3 and other possible reveals. Hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to leave a review!**


	8. Power

**I'm back, and ready to get back into this. I've been a bit busy the past few months guys, but no more lack of updates. It certainly won't be multiple times a day anymore, but I won't let this go more than two weeks without updating. Here we go into night 3, and things just might start to pick up a bit here. You'll just have to read on and find out…**

Feeling a heavy hand on her shoulder, Shadow sighed again and leaned backwards against Nightmare. At the creaking of Foxy's joints coming down the hallway, she turned to look at the confused animatronic fox.

"Lass…ye've worked at the pizzeria before? And ye still came back?"

Nightmare let out a rumbling warning growl, causing Foxy to take a cautious step backwards and flatten his ears. Sighing again, Shadow straightened up and rubbed her face.

"Yeah Foxy, I used to work at the pizzeria. 10 years ago. I was the weekend night guard. My friend that died there was the weekday guard. He died the night I decided to come get something I forgot…never believed him when he told me stories about what the night shift was like during the week. I came in the door…and Freddy was there. I screamed, which alerted my friend…I'll never forget him running down the hallway with panic in his eyes, throwing that tablet at Freddy's head…"

Shadow shook her head.

"I should have died there that night as well, but…I didn't. Instead, I found out things I never thought could be possible. I made a promise Foxy, to end the senseless slaughter of innocents…and I hope that you can help me. If you could change…maybe the others can too."

Smiling softly at Foxy, Shadow turned around and grabbed her coat from the closet.

"Anyways! I need to go to the store and pick some things up before my shift tonight. Plush, behave here at home with Foxy. Nightmare, I'll come to see you and Fredbear tomorrow some point. I want answers and I'm not leaving until I get them."

Nightmare chuckled.

"Very well little one. I'll take my leave. You seem to trust the fox, and I trust your judgement."

Nightmare disappeared into the dark with an evil laugh, making Shadow roll her eyes.

"Always with the dramatics…"

With a wave goodbye at Foxy and Plushtrap, Shadow walked out of the house.

 _11:30pm, Freddy Fazbear's Pizzeria_

Walking in humming cheerfully, Shadow shifted the bag on her back carefully, Plushtrap clinging to her head.

"What do you think buddy, will old Fazbear give me a break after this?"

Plushtrap chattered angrily, shaking his head. Shadow chuckled.

"Aw come on Plush, I'm willing to give the old bear a chance. Everyone has the potential to change."

Plushtrap snorted and shook his head again as Shadow walked into the main party room and placed the bag down. Walking over to the stage and climbing up, feeling the animatronics eyes on her, Shadow just smiled.

"I hope you don't mind me borrowing your cupcake for a second Chica. That candle looks just seconds away from falling off, I can fix that. Admittedly I'm not great with a needle and thread, but if I can manage to make two teddy bears, surely I can patch the candle…oh. Right. You can't move…blink once for no, twice for yes."

When Chica blinked twice, Shadow beamed at her and gently picked the cupcake up, pulling a needle and thread out of her pocket before going to work. Putting it back up a minute later, Shadow smiled again.

"There we go. No risk of the candle falling off now. Let's see…what else did I have to do tonight…"

Jumping off the stage, Shadow wandered over to the bag she had brought, humming to herself. Rummaging around in it, she eventually pulled out two oversized bowties and an oversized top hat. Placing them on the table, she turned around and leaned against it, looking up at Freddy and Bonnie.

"I couldn't help but notice both of your bowties were getting quite frayed and stained, as well as your top hat Freddy. It's up to you guys, but I brought you some properly sized new ones."

Looking at her watch, Shadow sighed.

"Looks like I need to get to the office. Like I said, up to you if you want the new stuff, I'll just leave it here."

Shadow grinned cheekily.

"See you later!"

Settling herself down in the office chair and handing the tablet to a chirping Plushtrap, Shadow propped her chin on her hand as the call started.

"Hello, hello? Hey, you're doing great! Most people don't last this long. I mean, you know, they usually move on to other things by now. I'm not implying that they died. Th-that's not what I meant."

Shadow snorted and shook her head.

" Uh, anyways, I'd better not take up too much of your time. Thing's start getting real tonight. Uh…hey, listen, I had an idea; if you happen to get caught and want to avoid getting stuffed into a Freddy suit, uh, try playing dead! You know, go limp. Then there's a chance that, uh, maybe they'll think you're an empty costume instead. Then again, if they think you're an empty costume, they might try to…stuff a metal skeleton into you. I wonder how that would work. Yeah, never mind, scratch that. It's best just not to get caught. Um…okay, I'll leave you to it. See you on the flip side."

Shadow rolled her eyes.

"I'm more worried about this companies blatant disregard for their employee's safety than I am for my ability to escape."

Looking at Plush, he handed the tablet back to her.

"If things are supposed to get 'real' tonight, why haven't any of them come to visit me yet…?"

Flipping through the cameras, she stopped on the main party room, smiling slightly. Chica was straightening Freddy's bowtie, with him rolling his eyes at her and Bonnie grinning and laughing at something. She swapped the camera to one of the hall monitors, not wanting to intrude.

"See Plush? I told you people could change. That goes for animatronics too."

Flipping through the cameras again, Shadow frowned and closed the right door. Soon, Freddy came into sight, trailed by Chica and Bonnie.

"Night guard. We wanted to come down to…ah..."

Freddy stopped, and scowled when Bonnie gave him a nudge.

"We wanted to come down and say thank you. We…may have misjudged you."

Bonnie pushed his way past Freddy, ignoring the annoyed growl from the bear.

"What he's trying to say, is we'll leave you alone now. You're welcome to come out if you want, but we can understand if you don't want to. We haven't really given reasons for you to trust us."

Shadow snorted.

"That's an understatement. You've spent the past two evenings trying to kill me. Emphasis on trying."

Shadow snickered at the angry growl from Freddy.

"Aww, come on Fazbear, you can't deny it. I'm not like any guard you've ever known, there's no way you'd catch me."

Chica and Bonnie exchanged glances and rolled their eyes, Chica muttering something to Bonnie quietly.

"No wonder Freddy doesn't like her much…they're too similar."

The glaring continued until Plushtrap chattered impatiently and climbed on top of Shadow's head, the small rabbit making a rude gesture at the bear in the window. Freddy growled and narrowed his eyes, but looked intrigued when Shadow put Plushtrap on the desk and started scolding him.

"I swear Plush, I come here trying to make peace and all you're doing is trying to stop fights. No, you can't go gnaw on his leg, no, you can't mess their wires up, and no, I'm not crazy! I'm going to send you back to Nightmare and Fredbear if you keep this up!"

Plushtrap made one last noise then crossed his arms and sat crossly on the edge of the desk. Shadow shook her head and chuckled.

"Silly little rabbit, you're too small to do more than annoy them."

Shadow tapped Plushtrap's nose.

"I can take care of myself buddy. Nightmare made sure of it. Pretty sure Fredbear still has the scar."

Freddy made a noise similar to that of a human clearing their throat. Shadow started, and turned to look at the animatronics in the window.

"Sorry…I forgot you guys were there. Not used to having an audience when I'm dealing with Plush. He can be a bit of a troublemaker sometimes…"

Chica smiled.

"It's alright, Foxy's a troublemaker sometimes too."

Bonnie frowned thoughtfully.

"Where is the old fox anyways? Usually he'd make a pass at the guard by now."

Shadow hummed.

"I got it on good word that he was going to be scrapped, so I convinced the manager to let me take him home to repair him. I'll have him back here fully repaired by Saturday morning."

Freddy raised an eyebrow.

"Why? Obviously you knew everything about what happens to the night guard when you took the job. Why take it, why offer to fix one of the same animatronics that would so willingly kill you? Why offer to fix any of us?"

Shadow sighed and leaned against the desk, pushing some of her hair out of her face.

"To show you not everyone is the same. Not everyone is looking to cause pain, and to hope, that maybe, you could change."

Shadow smiled ruefully.

"I came here as a little kid, I loved watching you guys perform. When I took the job as the weekend night guard 10 years ago, I thought I would be living in a dream. Instead, the day I came to get my coat during the week, I found out I was living a nightmare. The animatronics I loved were cold blooded killers."

Bonnie and Chica exchanged a glace, and Freddy lowered his head to stare at the ground.

"I watched a good friend die, and if it wasn't for some strange twist of fate, I would have died that night too. Coming to take this job, here and now, I didn't believe there was a chance you could change, but then I met Foxy last night. He let me hide in the cove and outright lied to you Freddy, but something he said made me believe there's more to this than I know. He said a male guard started this all…started what?"

It was Freddy's turn to sigh, shaking his head.

"30 years ago, an employee used one of the empty suits to lure 4 children to one of the back rooms. They were murdered, bodies never found and the employee never caught. All we knew was that the employee was the night guard. We were still young, had only recently been put online. We thought all the guards would be like him…so we decided to stop it. If they wanted to use the suits…well, who were we to deny helping them in putting them on?"

Shadow scowled and stood up, glaring at Freddy.

"People aren't all the same! Everyone has the potential to do bad, yeah, but not everyone is a monster! You've been killing innocents for 30 years. Many of them had families, or a future to look forward to, and you took that away from them."

Shadow looked like she wanted to continue, but paled when the building let out a dying hum and the power blacked out. With the sound of metal on metal, the door between her and the animatronics slid up.

 ***cackles* Cliffhanger! Remember to review, and have a good day!**


	9. Revelations

**I know, I'm late, please don't kill me!...I mean, I'm only a day late…I know I left a cliffhanger (which shouldn't surprise you guys by now) but hey, it's done and uploaded, eh? Enjoy!**

Shadow tensed, ready to bolt through the other door.

"Well fuck."

Freddy growled, eyes glowing in the darkness.

"Watch your language night guard."

Shadow relaxed lightly, raising a hand to scratch the back of her head sheepishly.

"Sorry! I completely forgot about the power…and not gonna lie, was expecting to be attacked as soon as the door went up."

Bonnie sighed sadly.

"We haven't given you reasons to believe otherwise."

Shadow hummed.

"Not going after me now is a good start to building a rapport…but anyways. I have questions for you guys, is there anywhere with a bit of natural light? I like the dark, but this pitch black is a bit ridiculous."

Plushtrap clicked, drawing the curious glances of the 3 animatronics in the hallway, and a thoughtful hum out of Shadow.

"I'm going to have to ask Nightmare what you mean by 'the game' Plush. Something to do with what him and Fredbear do to those unfortunate enough to get trapped with them I suppose?"

Plushtrap tugged on his ear and hid his muzzle in his paws and Shadow chuckled.

"Weren't supposed to say that, were you buddy?"

Chica crossed her arms, tapping a foot.

"How do you understand, err...Plushtrap you said?"

Shadow grinned cheekily and shook her head.

"I don't think so. We can do a question for a question, but I really would prefer somewhere with even a tiny bit of light. I don't have night vision like you guys."

Shadow frowned and muttered under her breath.

"Not like this at least…"

Bonnie gently pushed past Freddy and Chica.

"We could always go to Pirate's Cove. Foxy has some windows, he just keeps them blocked off."

"Sounds good to me."

Shadow grinned mischievously.

"Meet you there!"

Stepping backwards through the dark, Shadow ended up in Pirate's Cove and ran right into the ship.

"Ow…still too dark for me…Plush, can you see the windows?"

Plushtrap chirped and jumped off Shadow, and a minute later there was a loud clatter as a wooden board fell to the floor. Moonlight flooded the room, illuminating the dust particles floating in the air. A few minutes later, Freddy made his way into the room with Bonnie and Chica to find Shadow sitting on a wooden treasure chest with a needle and thread, fixing a tear in Plushtrap's torso.

"…told you that you'd rip yourself if you tried to get the broken wood off one of the windows, but did you listen? No, of course you didn't."

Chica giggled, and Freddy and Bonnie shared an amused grin.

"You sound like a parent scolding one of the children who try to climb up on our stage."

Shadow gave Freddy a disturbed look.

"That's too weird for me to think about."

Bonnie frowned, confused.

"Didn't you tell the manager you built Plushtrap? That would kinda make you his mom."

Shadow shivered.

"It got creepier. I told him I built Plush so that he'd leave me alone about bringing him. Plush actually lives the same place as my mentor, but I take Plush out for adventures every now and then. My turn for a question."

Bonnie scowled and stomped a foot.

"That's no fair, you didn't say we were starting!"

Freddy rolled his eyes and cuffed the back of Bonnie's head. Shadow snickered before her grin turned into a frown of her own.

"How long have you guys gone without any basic repairs or updates?"

Chica pouted the best she could with a beak.

"Too long. Freddy scares all the technicians away."

Freddy crossed his arms and scowled.

"It's been about 15 years since our last system update. 5 since our last basic repairs."

Shadow made an unhappy noise.

"I'll have my work cut out for me then…anyways, your turn."

Freddy tapped his chin thoughtfully.

"You mentioned a Nightmare and a Fredbear. Who are they?"

Shadow grinned happily.

"They're my mentors. They taught me everything about how to control my abilities. You're most likely to meet them at some point…Foxy's already met Nightmare. They're pretty much family to me now…"

Shadow hummed, putting Plushtrap down on the floor.

"Alright I've got another one…what's with the sudden change of heart concerning me? You don't go from trying to kill someone one night, to trying to make amends the next."

Freddy scowled, sighing when Chica put her hand on his shoulder.

"We knew you were different when you didn't look at us after the first night with horror and disgust. You still wanted to fix us, and you risked yourself while you were giving us that bath by putting us in free roam. Then tonight, when you fixed Chica's cupcake, and brought properly sized replacements for our bowties and my hat we knew without a doubt that you were kinder than most other humans we've met. Now, our turn I believe…why should we trust your ability to program and repair us? We assumed Plushtrap was some of your work, but now we have no example to base your claims on."

Shadow chuckled.

"I did say that, but I never said I haven't built an animatronic before. Maybe I'll get Nightmare to help me bring it over…I'm still not willing to try bringing something that big with me through teleporting."

Shadow sighed and looked at her watch.

"We're going to have to continue this tomorrow night. It's almost the end of my shift, the manager will kill me if you three aren't on stage when you lock up."

Bonnie frowned and looked pleadingly at Shadow.

"Couldn't you turn our free roam on? We'll stay on the stage, the manager never has to know!"

Shadow smiled sadly at Bonnie.

"Sorry Bonnie…I can't. If I lose this job, I'm not sure if I can save you guys or the pizzeria."

Freddy glared at Shadow and growled.

"What do you mean, save the pizzeria?"

Shadow glared back, fists clenched.

"You're going to lock up off the stage if you don't go now. I promise I'll tell you tomorrow."

Freddy growled again before turning around and stomping out of the room. Chica sighed and followed him, Bonnie trailing close behind. Shadow sat on the treasure chest with her face in her hands for a few moments, before sighing and getting up. Plushtrap climbed up onto her shoulder with a sad sounding chirp, rubbing his face softly against hers.

"Yeah, I know Plush…they had to find out sometime…I just wish it hadn't been from me, this early into starting a good relationship with them. Though, maybe it's a good thing it's out in the open…I don't think they'd appreciate something this important being hidden from them…which reminds me…"

Shadow scowled.

"We're not going home right away Plush. We're going right to see Nightmare and Fredbear. They owe me answers, now more than ever, especially after finding out why these four would hunt the guard."

Shadow stalked out of the room, a thunderous look on her face. When she passed the main band on the stage, they couldn't help but feel that the next evening would bring trouble. When she disappeared through a rippling curtain of darkness, they shared shocked glances before the clock struck 6, freezing them in place.

 **Okay, so I know it's a bit short compared to my usual chapters, but I wanted to end it here. Seemed a good place to end. Next time, we learn what it is that Nightmare and Fredbear have been hiding from Shadow about the pizzeria. Don't forget to review!**


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